About 1% of the population in England and Wales have a private water supply to there home and the source may be a well, borehole, spring, stream, river, lake or a pond. The supply may serve only one property or several but in either case it is essential the supply be well maintained to minimise any risk to human health.
While mains supplied water is treated to remove possible contamination (in 2002 in England and Wales there were 2.9 million tests undertaken with 99.87% meeting the standards) many private water supplies are untreated.
What should you do to keep your water supply safe?
The first thing is to get some details on your private water supply such as…
- Who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance?
- Where is the source?
- How does it get to your property?
- Is there any treatment?
- If it is treated is the equipment in good order and serviced regularly.
If the supply comes from a spring, well or borehole it should be protected against surface water getting into the supply particularly at times of heavy rainfall.
If the supply comes from a stream, river, lake or pond it is usually diverted to a settling pond to allow larger particles to settle out. In this case you must ensure that the water being collected in the settling pond is not being contaminated by discharges from a septic tank or any other type of sewage discharge upstream or run-off from farmland.
It is important to note that where a private water source is on farmland that there are strict guidelines in relation to the location of sheep-dips, slurry heaps and manure spreading. For more information on this please contact the Environmental Health Section on 01670 535000 or e-mail firstcall@castlemorpeth.gov.uk
Should you get your supply checked?
The Council legally has to monitor the quality of all private water supplies in the borough under the Private Water Supply (England and Wales) Regulations 1991, although depending on how many people use the supply dictates how often it is tested. These regulations may be viewed at www.opsi.gov.uk.
If you think your supply is not up to the standard that it should be then you can have it tested yourself at a private laboratory or request the Environmental Protection Unit to test it for you. Although it should be noted that both of these options would incur a charge that will vary depending on the testing that is carried out. However if you have a complaint about a private water supply this would not normally incur a charge by this Council. Testing is imperative to ensure that the water is wholesome and of good quality.
What are the possible contaminants of drinking water?
Bacteria – Untreated water may contain bacteria (although not all are harmful). The best way to kill bacteria is through disinfection and for this chlorine has been used successfully for over one hundred years. Although there are other types of disinfectant available. Where there is a risk of contamination of the water you may be asked to boil your water before use while remediation is arranged.
Pesticides - The most obvious source is those leaching from fields, however due to reduced amounts used nowadays you will rarely find pesticides in water. For more information on this you may find the page on crop spraying useful, the link is included above.
Metals – The types of metals you would find dissolved in private water supplies depends on the geology of the surrounding area perhaps with the exception of Lead. The most common source of Lead in private water supplies comes from the piping used to move the water.
There are a number of other chemicals that may affect private water supplies such as nitrate that are used in the forestry and farming industries. Water containing high levels of nitrates is particularly unsuitable for bottle fed babies as it may cause blue baby syndrome. If there is any uncertainty about the levels of nitrates in a private water supply, pregnant women or parents with babies under 12 months should contact us on the numbers below.
You may also find naturally occurring chemicals in the water from the surrounding catchments area, which includes iron or manganese. While these chemicals may affect the colour appearance and taste of the water on the whole there are unlikely to be prejudicial to health.
If you have any queries regarding Private Water supplies or would like any information you may contact the Environmental Protection Unit...
Tel: 01670 535000
E-Mail: firstcall@castlemorpeth.gov.uk
Further information on drinking water and Private Water supplies can be obtained from the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) website www.dwi.gov.uk, or at www.privatewatersupplies.gov.uk and also from our information leaflets above.
Service Standard
If we are informed of a microbiological failure of a private water supply we will respond within 1 hour.
A complaint about the quality of private water will be responded to on the next working day.
We aim to resolve a failure or complaint about quality within 3 months
Page Date 03/01/08